To save his protegé from a fatal destiny, a magician has imprisoned knights and ladies in an enchanted labyrinthine palace and mystifies them to the point of delirium. Luigi Rossi's first opera - boasting sixteen soloists, double and triple choirs for 6 and 12 voices, numerous ballets - marked the last surge of Roman opera before the Eternal City forsook it for a long time. For the Argentine conductor Leonardo García Alarcón, who rediscovered the opera in the Vatican Library neglected for 380 years, Il palazzo incantato is ‘the missing link in the history of opera and the metaphor of our lives'. ‘Leonardo Garcia Alarcon was known as a magician, now he has become a conjurer.’ (Le Monde)
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is the most human movie of the year. It is based on the 2010 short of the same name that follows a big-hearted, little shell named Marcel as he navigates through life in a human-sized world.
America is the crux of the storyline: she is the only person in existence with the power to jump between universes. As central as America is to the Multiverse of Madness story, she somehow didn’t get that much to do.
The Slumber Party Massacre wonderfully combines the suspense of its horror with its commentary on gender, creating a memorable slasher classic that began a horror trilogy entirely written and directed by women.
Netflix’s new rom-com, Voicemails for Isabelle (dir. Leah McKendrick), isn’t just heartwarming, funny, and an achievement in female directing - it’s also an instant classic. Following 20-something aspiring baker Jill (Zoey Deutch), Voicemails for Isabelle tells a story of grief, self-discovery, and fateful connections. Ever since her beloved sister Izzy’s (Ciara Bravo) death, Jill has been leaving her hilarious, extremely TMI voicemails about her chaotic love life and miserable day job as a prep cook. Little does she know that a handsome and unsatisfied real estate agent in her hometown has inherited the number and practically fallen in love with her by listening to her stories.
Ruben Östlund muses about his characters, “As soon as you get close to a person, you see them as just another human being”. It is widely recognized that aboard the luxury yacht in ‘Triangle of Sadness’, the different groups of people represent a small society as a commentary on classism and gender binaries.
Intergenerational friendships and community can be so powerful, and this was a great example.
